Monday, March 04, 2013

I'm in love with a diva called Plumb

I'm in love with a woman called Plumb. I only met her on the weekend but it's real and we're already going steady. She's a 37-year-old Christian from Indiana but don't judge me. You know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you hear a song or album for the first time and know you just found a new fave? It hasn't happened to me in a while but two songs into Need You Now - the American diva's sixth album - I just knew I had found a new friend.

The Christian music scene baffles me and, apart from Michelle Williams' two flawless gospel albums, I've managed to avoid it until now. Is this kind of music really considered inspirational? Plumb's songs are dark and pensive, exploring non-uplifting themes like depression, loneliness and loss. She works her way through genres as diverse as rock and dance with a keen sense of observation and an undeniable melancholy that will appeal to fans of depressed divas like Aimee Mann. Admittedly, there is a subtle strand of hope that shines through on many tracks but there's no Jesus talk that I noticed. Not that it would put me off.

There's not a bad song on Need You Now and at least half a dozen highlights but it's hard to go past last year's club single "I Don't Deserve You". The gorgeous Paul Van Dyk collaboration is one of the prettiest pieces of EDM I've heard in a long time. It's bleak and beautiful and should be the kind of song they play at weddings. So why does it sound more suited to a funeral? And why does she die from a bullet wound in the Bonnie & Clyde-inspired video. I cried! I guess it's about time I jump into her back catalogue. Recommendations?